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Who's entitled to a title? Lady G. investigates! |
With Love, Meghan, the latest Netflix lifestyle series featuring the Duchess of Sussex, has garnered attention, but not so much for the host's kitchen skills (chopping up fruit for a rainbow display, chopping up meats and cheeses for a charcuterie board -without so much as even one meat rose!), but for her steadfast commitment to, not only her new surname, but title as well.
Is Meghan really a Sussex? Is she still a Duchess?
As a somewhat dubious titled person, I felt a connection and a need to investigate.
As mentioned in last week's BTS blog, Duchess of Sussex. . .Our early review of Meghan's Netflix lifestyle series, we noted Meghan's slight admonishment of her special guest, Mindy Kaling. In what seemed like a good-natured conversation about their respective childhoods, Kaling referred to the host as "Meghan Markle", to which the former "Suits" actress quickly corrected her, stating "you know I'm Sussex now".
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Megxit cover story. Still Sussex, but not HRH |
Many of us were as surprised as Kaling by the surname declaration and more opinions hit the media than the bounty of homemade dog biscuits Meghan baked up - but both commentary and canine treats served up some tasty morsels for eager consumers.
In a recent interview in Town and
Country, Lord Ivar Mountbattan, a British aristocrat and a member of the
extended royal family, weighed in on the
debate around Meghan Markle’s moniker. Lord Ivar Mountbatten, a descendant of
Queen Victoria, told Town and Country that Meghan is “completely incorrect”
about her last name being Sussex.
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Meghan Sussex makes canine treats. |
“Her children are called Archie and Lilibet
Mountbatten-Windsor; they're not called Archie and Lilibet Sussex because
Sussex is a title. So, they are the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, but actually
he's Harry Mountbatten-Windsor and she would be Meghan Mountbatten-Windsor,”
Mountbatten explained.
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More Sussex opinions than dog treats, but both serve up tasty morsels. |
He further added, “My brother is the Marquess of Milford Haven, but his
surname is Mountbatten, so he's called George Mountbatten, the Marquess of
Milford Haven". (Guessing there's a shorthand nickname for close friends).
However, according to a New York Time’s article last week, in an interview with Rachel Bowie,
the royals editor for the lifestyle website PureWow, Bowie didn’t think what
Meghan said was problematic at all, adding that it’s “totally within royal
protocol.”
“Even though Archie and Lili were
christened ‘Mountbatten-Windsor,’ Harry and Meghan are borrowing Sussex from
their title to make up their last name,”
Most in the NYT article are in the same camp as Lord Ivor, who is not only a royal but a reality TV show star
from “Traitors".
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Executive producer of With Love, Meghan, is Meghan, Duchess of Sussex |
Per Hilary
Fordwich, a royal family expert, Meghan is "either totally oblivious to what
her actual name is, she doesn’t understand it or she’s lying,”
Ms.
Fordwich explained that while it isn’t new for a member of the royal family to
choose to go by their birth titles, that doesn’t usually make it their family name.
“By
established protocol, he can use Harry Sussex, which I’ve never heard him use,”
she said. “She could choose to use Meghan Sussex, but it’s not their surname.
This was the issue in that Netflix clip.”
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Charcuterie from Meghan, nice but. . . |
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Charcuterie from Lady G., includes meat rose! |
Not surprisingly, the no-stranger-to-fanning-media-frenzy, Thomas Markle, Meghan’s estranged father, complained to the Daily Mail about his daughter's decision to no longer use the name Markle. We suspect, as much as it might help ratings, Mr. Markle will not be a special guest on With Love anytime soon.
With core Royals, however, surnames can be viewed as superfluous. According
to the official website for the British Royal Family, members of the Royal
Family can be known both by the name of the Royal house, and by a surname, but, bottom line, it’s uncommon for core members to be referred to by a surname at all.
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Harry& Meghan wedding merch, soon to be Sussex? |
In fact, last names for the Royal Family are relatively new on the scene. Until 1917, they were referred to only by the name of the
house or dynasty they belonged to. King George V adopted Windsor as the name of the house and surname of his family.
Then, in 1960, Queen Elizabeth II and
Prince Philip, Harry’s grandparents, altered the name to Mountbatten-Windsor, which included Philip’s family name (and apparently, now the surname of a current reality TV star).
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Celebrating the Sussex nuptials on Fox 2, sharing all my royal merch. |
But, what about the title of "Duchess"? Is that as controversial as the adopted surname of "Sussex"? Based on accepted protocol and the lack of social media debate, entitlement of this title is acceptable.
As explained in Newsweek (June 2024), Queen Elizabeth II granted her grandson, Harry, three new titles, the most senior of these was the Dukedom of Sussex.
When Harry married Meghan, she became the first Duchess of Sussex, although, she is not a duchess in her own right. Marriage to Harry also gave Meghan the style of Her Royal Highness (HRH). But, when the couple split from the royal family, the HRH became the only address to be removed (although they still legally retain them).
So, yes, Meghan is very much entitled to use her title, as she does at the end of every With Love, episode. Credits show the executive producer of the Netflix series is "Meghan, Duchess of Sussex".
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Lord and Lady Glencoe |
In the spirit of address and titles, I would also like to clarify how I may be referred to. Married to the Lord of Glencoe (a title that comes with a square foot of land in Scotland at the most reasonable cost of less than my last pair of Hokas), I can be called Lady Glencoe, (self-appointed) Duchess of Pemberly Pines.
Or, with love, just Barb from Barb's Tea Service.